Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

This is a discussion on Maruti S-Cross : Official Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by rockporiom
Doesn't the Dzire and swift come with 190 nm of torque? I believe the vgt adds ...

If they had at least plonked the 1.6 petrol with a tune for efficiency they could have got better numbers.

IMO, the whole idea of going diesel only is due to the fact they have 3 products coming soon and need space for pricing the same. Some of them will be touching the 10 L in the higher variant. (Remember that Nexa is premium!!)
1. YRA - Petrol and diesel , with lower price tag countering Hyundai's Elite
2. YBA- Another Compact UV/SUV(<4 m) to counter EcoSport - speculated in Diesel only and much below the S Cross.
3. New Vitara - No plans divulged yet - But could just sit below the S Cross but more with an SUV look - Could take on Hyundai's Creta.

I doubt most of people who are calling S-Cross just a big hatchback haven't sat inside the car for once.

While I am making a generalization but I think once must see it in real and sit inside to get a real feel about what it is. It is every bit premium. It is every bit large (I own a Getz, S-Cross cabin is way way larger than its). High seating, good view of road. Premium fit and finish inside.

So, take a Sigma at 9.25 Lacs OTR in Delhi/Gurgaon and go aftermarket for the touch screen (the stock anyway looks aftermarket), parking sensors, Alloys. At 10 Lac of effective price you have a great car.

It looks like a very good and new concept for me and I am all in. Lets not be dogmatic about how a car should look like.

I would choose it over i20 Active/ Ecosport every day.

Note: These views are based on visual inspection. A test drive might just change the opinion.

I am not sure thiyags if a FMCG product with multiple manufacturing plants catering to different parts of the country can be equated to an automobile coming out of a single factory.

@Vigkey: Agreed, FMCG and Automobile may not have same policies. But what I meant is the price points mentioned in the covers of FMCG products that MRP is X in some states and X+ in some other states even though manufacturing happens in one location.

I am not an expert but i think the difference between Delhi ex showroom price and other states can be attributed to the transportation cost which Maruti can claim they are absorbing. Anyway it is good that Suzuki has priced the car at 9.99L, saves money for the buyer.

No question why they didn't do that. Where the prices will be for the 1.6 Diesel Alpha AT AWD! 16L ex-showroom Delhi!

i meant like more in terms of a petrol AT which is tuned for efficiency something like the CIAZ AT. Believe it or not there are many takers for the CIAZ AT in the vxi trim. That means if priced well people are interested in petrol AT's. S cross doesn't have a diesel AT trim anywhere in the world. They only have petrol AT with the same CVT found in the KIZASHI.

It looks like someone has realised the Karnataka road tax slabs at Nexa. The ex-showroom tag of 9.99L ex-showroom Delhi has been somehow carried over to Bangalore and this really makes a huge impact to the on road price of the Zeta DDiS200.

So is this true for all the S-Cross variants across 1.3 and 1.6 Engine options ?
I mean does Karnataka have same Ex-showroom pricing as Delhi for all models and variants ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10

Basic accessories package added 8800 INR. Any idea what is this - is this an optional accessory?

This basic accessory package will usually be the mats, etc but 8800 seems steep!

So is this true for all the S-Cross variants across 1.3 and 1.6 Engine options ?
I mean does Karnataka have same Ex-showroom pricing as Delhi for all models and variants ?

No- looks like all across India Zeta DDiS200 is 9.99 lakhs ex- showroom. Not for other variants though.

Some insight to S Cross development.

S Cross was tested for more than 400,000 kilometres.

Quote:

We have been working for 4 years on this product and the total investment is Rs 600 crore along with suppliers. The localisation is 97 percent on the DDiS 200. The development of both the models has been done at Suzuki’s end but the field testing and evaluation on road and a lot of tuning for Indian road conditions, both on the engine side and suspension side, have been done here

Quote:

A lot of high-tensile steel, which is important in vehicle lightweighting, has been used in the body. The S-Cross has excellent fuel efficiency at 23kpl. Lightweighting is very important for us and the overall platform is lightweight. There is no existing comparison as it is a new platform and lightweighting is at the heart of it.

Quote:

The development was primarily done in Japan and we helped wherever required

Seeing the variable pricing strategy gave me a curious thought. What if I buy the car from the state where price is least (say Delhi)and take to my native state and register it there!!
Might not be practical always, still is it legally possible to do that?

Well came back after a short test drive as they still haven't got the approvals to start the test drive. I was the first person to take the test drive of DDIS 200.
Below are my observations.

1. No need to tell the space, but I must say you can easily get a high seating position as well as a sedan-ish position.
2. Let me tell you it doesn't feel sluggish. Although they have tuned it for power, there is very less turbo lag, better than my ritz. We should also note ritz is 1110 kgs where as s-cross zeta at 1190kgs with 15 more horses at disposal.
3. Steering is light, sad that it's very unlike swift/ritz where you get very good feedback. But it weighs up as the speed increase.
4. The cabin is super silent without even music.
5. In-gear acceleration is very good and better than my ritz. I could move from stand still in 2nd gear.
6. Special mention to the suspension setup. You won't feel a thing.
7.The music system is awesome, bass is punchy.
8. AC is very good but this is not the season to test it's effectiveness.

I did have a test drive of jazz diesel couple of days back, s-cross is miles ahead in every respect. Just don't take my words, a test drive is must to verify one's priorities.

The premiumness is very much there and zeta @12 lakhs is much better than jazz VX and eco-sport titanium(although it may appeal to people like mini-suvish feeling).

Confirmed my booking and paid partial amount. Colour booked is grey and delivery will be next week.

I mayn't have covered most of the points, but I can provide more details.

Just back from my third visit to the Bimal Nexa!! And the news from my end is that I have verbally confirmed the DDiS 200 Zeta variant Silver color. However, I will officially confirm only after I personally see the Zeta variant and test drive the DDiS 200 on Monday / Tuesday. My RM was pretty OK with it. Even today I spent around 45 minutes.

When I went in, my RM was having lunch and I was asked to wait for 5 minuted. I was offered some sweets and snacks and I thought I will munch them as I wait for my RM to finish his lunch. When he came out, it was visibly clear that he was feeling it tough to face me. He apologized on the pricing fiasco and told me that they were as shocked as we are on seeing the prices especially as Maruti had confirmed very low prices for the DDiS 200 - lower than Ciaz. Anyways, understanding that I was not there to cancel the booking and demand a refund, he started telling how VFM the Sigma and Delta variants were for what it offered and how it is better than the competitors in the quality.

I interrupted him and said I was more interested in the Zeta variant. He said it will come to ~12 lakhs OTR and said I will be missing the auto headlamps + wiper, HID projectors + DRLs, reverse camera and leather interiors. I corrected him saying, I will get reverse camera but will miss out on the silver roof rails. I asked if HID projectors will be available as a spare and he said it will be available after some days and it will cost ~20-25k.

Alpha vs Zeta - Features missed

HID projector headlamps + LED positioning lamps

Auto headlamps and wipers

Leather Seats and PVC door arm rests

Auto dimming IRVMs

Leather wrapped steering wheels

Silver roof fails

All these features are IMO not really worth the HUGE premium of >2 lakhs OTR.

DDiS 200 Zeta vs DDiS 320 Zeta

Advantage DDiS 200

Better FE and probably better city drivability

Cruise Control

ACC

Reverse parking camera

Advantage DDiS 320

1.6 L engine with more power and torque

Silver roof rails vs Black in the DDiS 200

Auto dimming IRVM

Leather wrapped steering wheels

Even in this comparison, I feel DDiS 200 Zeta is better loaded than the DDiS 320 Zeta. Somehow, I feel I have decided to go ahead with the most VFM variant of S-Cross. Now, a discussion with home ministry is pending as last night I had told her that we are back to i20 vs Jazz and we need to make a quick decision. Weekend should be super fun with all the debates and we should probably arrive at a decision by Tuesday!!!

Edit: Regarding the Accessories kit for Rs 8800, my RM said that the kit will contain 2 sets of floor mats (1 fabric and 1 carpet - the Carpet will be placed over the fabric mat), mud flaps, Car cover and Door sills. I am not really sure of the Door sills. Any clue on the truth of this matter? and if it is worth Rs 8800??

Quote:

Originally Posted by sou_3749

I did have a test drive of jazz diesel couple of days back, s-cross is miles ahead in every respect. Just don't take my words, a test drive is must to verify one's priorities.

The premiumness is very much there and zeta @12 lakhs is much better than jazz VX and eco-sport titanium(although it may appeal to people like mini-suvish feeling).

I definitely HAVE to agree with you my friend Last night I was having a very bad confusion. After seeing S-Cross Jazz's interiors felt spartan and feature list looked void. i20 NEVER convinced me with its steering. I was worried if I will, at the end of the day, have to choose a car that did not impress me the most just because of the price. I was in for a pleasant surprise this morning to see that DDiS 200 is priced 9.99 ex-Bangalore. And that is what prompted me to visit the showroom today.

Congrats on your booking!!! You might probably be one of the first S-Cross owners in Bangalore!!!

Maruti's latest offering, the S Cross was launched at a starting price of 8.34 lakhs till 13.74 lakhs for the top spec 1.6 320 DDiS. T Hashimoto, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki told Autocar India that the carmaker has a target of selling 4,000-5,000 units of the S-Cross per month.

With only NEXA exclusive dealerships selling the S Cross and the Creta being clearly having the upper hand, I doubt the sales of 4000 units a month. I think sales of 2000 units is more logical.

I definitely HAVE to agree with you my friend Last night I was having a very bad confusion. After seeing S-Cross Jazz's interiors felt spartan and feature list looked void. i20 NEVER convinced me with its steering. I was worried if I will, at the end of the day, have to choose a car that did not impress me the most just because of the price. I was in for a pleasant surprise this morning to see that DDiS 200 is priced 9.99 ex-Bangalore. And that is what prompted me to visit the showroom today.

Congrats on your booking!!! You might probably be one of the first S-Cross owners in Bangalore!!!

Thanks mate. But, I doubt as most of the people haven't changed their bookings for DDIS 200. I saw couple of people at the very same showroom doing payments and asking delivery in 3 days. Guess what the first couple of deliveries are going to be for DDIS 320. You must hear the sound of DDIS 200, it's pure music although DDIS 200 is more silent. I am one of the people who will get the vehicle towards the end of the initial lot.

There is going to be a long queue for DDIS 200 zeta. I am not sure how long Maruti will be able to hold on to these prices in Bangalore.